Tuesday, July 03, 2007 – Cameroon beat Lesotho 2-1 in the semifinal of the Sasol Eight Nations tournament at the Olen Park Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Jean-Michael Nlend and Christian Bekamenga scored early in the second half to seal victory for the North Africans and Lawrence Molengoane got a goal in extra-time for Lesotho.
Lesotho was livelier going forward but made one too many touches on their way to goal. Tefo Maipato provided width on the right while lone striker Sello Imuso kept the Cameroon defence with his speed and movement off the ball.
The Olympic Lions were dealt a blow when midfielder Eugene Aka Herve limped off the field and was replaced by Djam Ronald Kufoin in the 10th minute.
Their tall striker Jean-Michel Nlend troubled the relatively shorter Lesotho defenders but they denied their opponents by remaining cool under pressure.
The North Africans could not match their Southern neighbours for pace and when Katleho Moleko split the defence with a well-weighted pass to Imuso, it seemed the striker would score.
However, he pushed the ball wide to beat Patrick Amour and when the keeper missed the ball the player dropped to the ground.
The referee immediately pointed to the spot, althought the Cameroonians protested, his decision stood and Maipato stepped up and blasted the ball high over the bar.
Two minutes after the break Nlend caught the Lesotho defence napping when he arrived at the far post to nod home from six yards out. Bekamenga doubled the lead five minutes later and Lesotho was stunned.
However, immediately after the restart the livewire Imuso foraged forward and played a quick one-two with Dlomo Monaphathi which caught the Cameroon defence cold. Imuso drew Amour out too and placed his shot beyond the keeper but surprisingly it hit the upright.
The boys from the mountain kingdom never gave up though, and with their quick passing game and speed they had the Cameroonians on the back foot, but centre-back Alexis Mendomd organised his defence well, thwarting the Lesotho attaCKS.
When Cameroon went forward they did so with precision. Kufoin played a neat ball over the Lesotho defence to Leonard Leony who blasted his shot over the posts from an acute angle.
The Olympic Lions held their nerve during the dying minutes of the game as Lesotho swarmed into their half but were denied the goal they strove for.
With three minutes added on Lesotho threw everyone forward. Captain Thabiso Maile blasted a freekick from 22-yards out that Amour parried in to the path of substitute striker Molengoane who netted from a sharp angle. However, it was a little too late to make a comeback as Cameroon stayed back, happy to sit on their lead.
The Olympic Lions will meet Botswana in the final on Thursday in a rematch of their Group A game which Botswana won 1-0.
SOURCE: SUPERSPORT
